What does it look like today?

The picture with the awnings is fairly current and very much what it looks like today. Thanks!

If the Christmas lights are still up, then thats the first thing that needs to be removed. The red bushes are overgrown and cut flat across the top and are pretty much an eye sore. I would remove them, and do some new landscaping. Unless the awnings are necessary for some reason, I would remove them asap. If they are absolutely needed, then, they need to be replaced, since they are very faded and old looking. It is a very nice looking house. Congratulations on being the new owner.

Thank you! The Christmas lights are down, they belonged to a previous tenant. I've thought about removing both the awnings an the shutters. They are not doing much for the exterior.

As far as exterior paint colors, I grabbed a few paint swatches and am torn between trying to match the existing color or trying something darker like Sherwin Williams Perpetual Gray or Time and Space.

The green trim will be repainted white and i plan on painting the porches.

It doesn't look like the ramp is being used, can you remove it?

Absolutely!

I feel like that would improve the look tremendously.

Do you prefer cheerful and clear colors for paint or somber and dignified?

If you will have a tenant in this 2-family house, you may want to coordinate new parking areas for both families, carefully marked off with paint and parking curbs. There may be no need for the extensive asphalt right up to the stairs and porch. New flower beds and foundation planting would be a huge improvement.

An arborist could tell you if the large tree on the right side needs pruning to prevent potential damage in windstorms.

I like muted colors, i like the color below, the paint swatch is closest to what i could find that looks like that. Thoughts on how this would look on log siding?

Time & Space

Light neutral siding, white trim & shutters, color pop doors, new awnings, minimize ramp & rework. This new look is well worth time, careful selection & a hired designer's time. Good luck :)

Remove the awnings and the ramp if it is not necessary so your house will look like a home and not a storefront. Remove the overgrown shrubs and replace with landscaping that will stay lower. Since you are replacing the windows anyway, I would try to make the top right and left windows symmetrical in size.

Here are some colors from Benjamin Moore historical collection. I think these colors would look good with a gray roof.

You have a lot of options with that roof. What color family are you most interested in?

I had gotten a few swatches of what i thought was grey from Lowes but i didn't really love any of them. They looked too green with the roof. i don't know if i'm choosing the wrong color grey or if the house should be a different color?

Update with awnings and shutters removed

Since you now have a disconnect in the color that was behind the shutters, consider whitewashing the house as it seems to have been in your 3rd photo. The siding looks a lot like logs which can whitewash well. I don't care for the little "outhouse" enclosed entry, but you might like some shelter from the elements. Are there historic restrictions on what you can do? I'm thinking a wide porch all across the front would serve several purposes. How much of the asphalt can you tear out? That will make for the most important element, curb appeal, to be worked out.

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After you've finished replacing your windows I would try to add trim around them so they are all consistent. Paint your two extra doors the same color that you use on your trim, so your front door can be more of a focal point. If you aren't going to use and maintain the window boxes it would be better to remove them and focus on the landscaping under the window instead. I would also widen your front steps and railing to be at least as wide as the enclosed portico.

Unfortunately I don't think that whitewashing would work. The house is painted so it needs to be painted again. There are no historical restrictions and I can tear out as much of the driveway as i need to. I like the idea of widening the steps to be as wide as the portico, i think that would look a lot nicer and I never would have thought of that. That Crownsville gray color is beautiful!

Update! Still a lot of work to be done but we've made some serious progress this summer!

Very nice ! So what is the color ? Thanks for the update. It is fun to see what folks end up doing.

Thank you! I like the updates too, I looked at lots of posts before we did anything it's super helpful to see before and after pictures. The color is Ocean Storm by Valspar. I love it so far :)

Nice changes so far. It now looks like a home instead of a business!

I would replace the plywood. It looks like it is on its last legs. Can you cover it with the vinyl?

Thank you for responding, i actually moved this to new post I wasn't sure if it would be seen here. I thought about that but thought i might be expensive for a temporary fix?

I don't know where my post went! so i'm reposting here, again!

Attached is photo of the most recent update to the house. I'm having the back resided in vinyl to match the front and sides since it was the most weathered and neglected. The house has two basements, one door was replaced, the other used to have a garage door and was modified to have one steel door. I'm looking for inexpensive ideas to disguise the eyesore door until my budget allows me to replace that one as well. Thanks in advance!

The front looks great. You can paint the eyesore back door and its surroundings with the same color blue as the siding.

Why does the back have giant propane tanks and a huge exhaust fan?

The house used to be a Restaurant and the exhaust fan was for the commercial kitchen. It's coming down when the siding goes up. I heat with Propane so the propane tanks are necessary and very ugly, lol.

APO - I'm guessing it may have been a restaurant at one time.

@menajellybeana-have you looked into getting one large propane tank instead of the 4 smaller ones?

I have propane too, and there is no way to disguise it unless you bury it, and I’m not spending that kind of money.

As far as the steel door, I’d get some paint color matched to the siding and paint the door until you can replace it.

It's actually a two family so there are two 120 gallon tanks for each unit. I did think about moving them to the treeline so they are away from the house and adding a rear deck for the downstairs unit but that's in the future.

If you are going to add vinyl to the back, I don't think it would cost much to cover the plywood. Why would this be a temporary fix?